Odessa massage worker offered sexual services during undercover police sting - NewsWest9.com

[massage]

ODESSA, TX (KWES) -
Investigators executed a search warrant Wednesday around 9 p.m. at a West County Road massage business suspected of offering customers illicit sexual favors for money, Odessa Police said.

Officers and SWAT team members raided Accu Therapy Massage, located in the Western Village Shopping Center, after an undercover operation earlier in the day corroborated prostitution suspicions, according to Odessa Police spokesman Cpl. Steve LeSueur.

Undercover detectives entered the business and were approached by a female employee who attempted to sell them sexual favors, a police official involved in the ongoing investigation said.

He requested to remain anonymous, but revealed the unidentified woman propositioned two officers and quoted each of them between $120 and $200 for her services.

Authorities left to obtain a search warrant and returned several hours later to a deserted business, the Odessa Police source said.

"The door was locked, the business was dark... and the suspect that we had dealt with earlier wasn't there," he said. "It appeared they all left in a hurry."

No arrests were made at Accu Therapy Massage, LeSueur confirmed.

Police declined to release details about evidence seized during the raid.

Investigators were also made aware of a suspicious advertisement posted on www.odessa.backpage.com before the search warrant was obtained, police said.

The post featured a suggestive photo of a woman wearing a revealing shirt and listed the phone number and address of Accu Therapy Massage.

"Break away from your regular routine and indulge in something extraordinary," the ad reads. "Your time here will always be super good."

Investigators said the suspect or suspects involved in the case could be part of a "larger human trafficking network" that moves female sex workers between cities.

The women and girls often live at the businesses where they work, according to police, and are whisked away to their next location when authorities begin investigating.

Jason Butta, an employee at a neighboring business in the Western Village Shopping Center, said he became aware of possible prostitution at the massage business shortly after they opened approximately a month ago.

"A lot of people around here know," he said. "“Sometimes you’d see 18-wheelers just pull up, park [and stay for] 20 [to] 30 minutes... Mostly single guys, older guys [and] truck drivers."

When pressed for details about the nature of the suspected services offered at Accu Therapy Massage, Butta responded with, "A full meal deal’s a full meal deal, you know what I mean?”

Accu Therapy Massage owners could not be reached for comment.

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